Adams Accounting Blog

  • The ATO receives around 18,000 complaints a year about employers failing to pay staff superannuation and approximately 70% of the complaints relate to small businesses.

    If you have a business and do not pay employees’ superannuation guarantee contributions (SGC) within 28 days of the end of a quarter, you will incur interest at 10% per annum on the missed payments as well as an administration fee of $20 per employee. You are also required to lodge a Superannuation Guarantee Statement and remit the payment directly to the ATO.

    On top of this the business will also lose the tax deduction because the super guarantee charge is not tax deductible. To make matters worse even if you operate thorugh a company, the government green lit directors liability for unpaid super guarantee. Meaning if you operate your business through a company (or trust with corporate trustee) the limitations of corporate liability will be waived and the directors of the company will be held personally liable for the unpaid superannuation.

    Moral of the story: pay your employee super contributions by the 28th of the month following the end of the quarter.

    This might be an understatement but having employees is complicated. By law you need to withhold the correct amount of tax, pay the correct amount of superannuation and include certain information on pay slips. Then there are the other functions such as tracking annual leave, personal leave and more. Making sure you meet all award and governmental requirements is integral.

    If your unsure if you have met your employer or have recieved your employee entitlements call us today.


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